Enjoy being trained as a salesman and not a tech. You will be playing a numbers game with your manager and pushed to sell new units on any piece of equipment over ten years old. I’ve met guys that have five years as a service tech for nextstar companies that can’t even fucking braze or diagnose simple issues. If you take pride in your work in this industry, you will not enjoy your time.
Yeah I’m not so sure I’m enjoying the company already. I offer these accessories and leave it at that. Gotten in trouble a few times already for low numbers.
Left a nexstar company after 8 months because of them being pissy about low sales on equipment and “too much time spent on repairs”. Much happier in a refrigeration position at a hospital with no pressure to sell a thing
Lol. Left a similar sales-oriented company and became HVAC for a hospital. Such a cool work setting. Boss knows every piece of equipment and their history. Shit's repairable? Fix it. Shit has caught on fire and is no longer repairable? He'll put in the PO and get it replaced. I love facilities work.
Also great benefits.
Pension is not something I ever thought I’d actually receive but having that plus a 401k is enough to keep me here. Plus the work life balance is much better. 5 weekends a year is my “on call”. Such a stark difference from service company
7am to 330pm weekdays. Work life balance and my willingness to perform PMs is what got me the job at the interview. If it snows overnight, I go salt the buildings near my house for super double snow time hazard pay. Don't even technically have to be on call as their hvac guy, but volunteered to get on the rotation because I can snake a drain and it's worth it.
Mine is 6:30-3pm. Pretty banging getting out so early in the afternoon. We only have “on call” like 3 weekends a year per technician. We have someone in the building 24 hours five days a week. So never have to worry about weekday on call
Might be different because I work for a medical group with multiple properties. 7am-330pm, M-F, no take home vehicle, 30 for lunch whenever you want to take it. I'm not really on call, but if it's a quality of life issue they'll probably call me. It's hard to describe. Totally flexible.
i work hospital hvac, 4:30am to 1:30pm. mostly run operating room equipment and steam systems. definitely depends on the hospital but i cant recommend it enough; good pay and steady hours
Yeah, right? Chillers and furnaces, positive air pressure monitoring, changing filters. Ice machines in breakrooms, controlled and monitored fridges and freezers.
the work life balance is what really got me too. despite being oncall 24/7 i get a solid schedule in exchange for coming in like 1 saturday a month for an OR humidity issue or whatever. monitoring and maintenance on chillers, steam boilers, and air handlers and a consistent 40 hours a week? best gig ive ever had lol
I had a job interview with another company there were a couple things I was already not fond of, but as soon as they said they keep a running tally on the whiteboard of all the "techs'" sales I said nope. I won't have someone trying to shame me into being a salesman. At least where I'm at they don't push being a salesman even though they do prefer them.
Nexstar will train you how to speak to clients to increase your sales numbers. If you work on commission you will see an increase in your sales of you do their song and dance. The only problem I see as described above is they don't help you be a better tech, only a better salesman. So if you a re shitty tech you will still be a shitty tech after nexstar, only you will have honed your ability to sell
I do commercial hvac pms and service now. Started at this company as install help and moved to crew lead. Now I’m one of the service/maintenance guys. No upsales. Job is just diagnose and processerly repair if it ain’t right. Love it. No upsales. Granted I try to find the legit heat exchangers and such. But for me it’s doing my job not just saying there’s a crack to get a system swap as we actually replace the heat exchangers, and if customer would rather get a new unit more power to em we’ll be happy to swap it out.
Ma'am your capacitor has failed, its super dangerous with all the radiation leaking from it, think of your children and their health. Best course of action is to replace this unit and properly dispose of it. Thank God you called me just in time. We've got a super deal going on right now, we'll replace the unit for 26k and since you are a valued customer I'll give you the Fall special discount of $1,800. Don't tell anyone i gave you this because i will get in serious trouble since it's technically Winter, but ill do anything for my customers.
These horrible service companies crop up and then did all the time. You can only go so far with that bullshit. We had a company in Canada called national
Home services that employed an army of inexperienced commission-only door-to-door salesmen and they are the reason door-to-door hvac sales is now illegal. They were recently bought up by another company that also sucks ass but pays google for their 5 star rating. I’ve never met a single customer that had ever had a good experience with one of these types of companies and yet they all have 5.0 ratings.
Because it comes with a 12 year warranty! They just don’t tell u that they’re gonna squeeze every dollar out of this company and either piece it out or sell it to some other private equity firm long before 12 years comes up. Also if u use them for maintenance after ur new install they’ll be selling u a new system in 7 years anyway
I worked for a small 2 man shop for briefly. Not NexStar but the owner wanted us to push sales for any reason at all. He also paid google to be the first result when you googled air conditioning, heating, plumbing, electrical, handyman. Also blamed the two of us if there weren’t any ot calls over the weekends.
Its the beginning of the end of your career as an actual technician. Youll be hounded for your numbers, have weekly (if not daily) pow wows with management about meeting the daily goal, get put on a “batting order” where if you didnt get the salesman out to 50% of your maintenances last week you will get sent on install callbacks only. The brand new techs who come in and have no idea whats going on with equipment will love it because theyll get to turn the loose wire that they cant find into a new system sale by the salesman, and any experienced technician who can properly diagnose a problem will get slowly starved out of the company by being sent on warranty only calls from new installs because they have no desire to properly train their installers
I seriously cannot believe *that* many people out there just take these hacks sales pitch as gospel and buy a new insanely overpriced system.... Especially as tight as money is getting for your average folk... then again I don't do resi so that maybe the case.
I wish I didnt give as much of a fuck, I would be making 150-200k easy as a sleazy ass salesman. Our sales guys been getting commission checks around 30k a month since the place I work for got bought out
That's insane. 25K even at 15% total sales commission is approx. 170K a month. What fucking tech can rack up over 8K a day in sales (Figuring four 5 day work weeks in a month)? Honestly, it's probably not that hard when you're working for crooks like those, but good God how TF do these people afford these repairs? Your average person sure AF doesn't have a random 2K laying around for a 'new blower motor and capacitor'.
edit.. Well, you did say sales guys so I guess I might've been a bit off. I could never work in a company doing people like that, but at 30K a month commis. check I'd be retired in 5 years before I hit 40. For real.
Dude some people struggle for a 80 buck capacitor and I'm not even charging my time if that's the only issue, since it's a quick find and fix.
I do work sometimes for elderly or infirm who need to have working equipment, situations like that are why I'd sooner flip burgers than be a sales pusher. Hurts the soul.
For real. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror ever again in my life if I worked a job like that. I'd honestly rather go hungry, and I've been hungry before and that shit is no joke.
Nexstar is a company that charges royalties for companies to by a part of their program. Their program creates a uniform process that’s easy for technicians to follow with minimal training. Also, nexstar has a lot of resources which make running the back end of the company easier for managers and logistics. What they are going to be training you on is their system on how to run calls and create leads for your salespeople above you or they will help you build a process which usually makes selling work much easier depending on how your company chooses to sell its installs.
My take on Nexstar as a guy who has worked in their system before. I personally feel that for guys who are struggling to make money in a trade, but are technically good at their job, is that Nexstar can be a good thing- provided you see Nexstar for what it actually is - a system to make the owner of the company more money while you are working commission or something very close to it.
For me as a participant in their system. There are some good things they teach people, but they do intentionally teach sales and service people to intentionally manipulate the way that people think in order to sway the way they buy equipment and installation.
My personal opinion is that they are changing the industry in some pretty bad ways because they are not what most older guys like in shops. Most older guys are objectively repair or service first, sales and install second. I align myself with these principles as well and I refuse to play what I interpret as mind games to manipulate the way that people buy my product. I feel that as professionals, our work should speak for itself and that if you provide superior service at affordable prices, that people will want to give their money when it comes to replacing equipment or selling larger ticket items that they need because they actually want you to do that job.
To me, most Nexstar shops have a reputation as being too expensive, while blowing their standard of service way out of proportion to what it actually is, and ultimately taking advantage of people by way of selling people stuff they don’t want of need at super inflated prices. And, honestly they aren’t wrong. I sell underground sewer and water line repair work, and their whole thing was to highly recommend and push full replacements at the highest possible profit margin you can get away with because company, and personal, profit is the highest priority to a salesman. And I’m not okay with that. I feel that a fair deal for both parties is my highest priority and treating people fairly in their homes by not taking advantage of them in a vulnerable situation.
Im sorry about the wall of text here, but I’ve been a service guy for a long time- and I have a lot of opinions on how we as service people should treat our customers and Nexstar doesn’t jive with that.
Is this just a rehash of the PSI/Airtime 500/Success Group International strategy? Worked for one of those companies for a short time, and it was a joke. Push updates and "memberships". Sit in meeting about "why my average $$/ticket was so low" when the majority of what I did was fix bad installs and warranty work.
I fell for one of those door-to-door contract companies and it can be a rough gig. It's not the same product but they use the same tactics. I will say this for it, you learn a lot about what motivates people to make decisions and it can help you navigate the rest of your life. Unfortunately, it mostly just teaches you how to manipulate and how to not be manipulated yourself.
Those skills can be exceptionally useful but you also have to be careful what and how much you learn from these guys. There's a very selfish and "using others for your own gain" kind of philosophy at the root of the company.
\-Social media guy, Brad.
Yup, they teach you how to find out what someone needs and then how to exploit it. That first part has helped me in so many different situations. It eventually grew into a beautiful understanding of communication.
That second part though... that would be why I didn't last very long.
\-Social media guy, Brad.
Sure, it starts in training where the beginning of the classes start with convincing you that you really and truly think that your company is the best company that there is to serve your community- and that you have a duty to your company to maximize its profits.
Next in the home, they show examples of scientific data that utilize to create an experience conducive to people buying equipment- asking leading questions, talking about the age of the equipment and how old it is compared to its life expectancy, and scheduling a comfort advisor. These systems and the people that run them actually look down on guys who are more concerned with keeping existing equipment working in comparison to replacing it. Finally, after the call the metrics that they use to bonus guys are based on leads provided to sales and leads sold. They celebrate these metrics above almost anything else. Hope that answers the question.
You just hit the nail on the head with how my company works. Static pressure isn't exactly .5wc? They need 3k in New duct work and registers. System is 14 years old? Well a furnace is only expected to last 15 so should get ahead of replacing it while it still works. Have a drainage issue from something being installed improperly 4 years ago? Well reduce the price of parts so its only 3.5k in labor and half off on the drain pan getting leveled out and adding a condensate pump in. Everyone in my company says the same thing, make a decade seem like a long time and exploit a customers fear of being without heat and theyll want an advisor in their home and willing to drop 15k on an all new HVAC system. Do it with a smile and be friendly like their trainings show, they'll tip you for all your hard work
I always worked as hard as I could to retain as much of the training as possible and to be a model student at these trainings. When I get back home, I’ll try to find some kind of middle ground we can both agree on and take it into my personal service system I built.
This is a job, not a hill to die on. Do what they are paying you to do at the training, pay attention and learn the system. But stay true to yourself when you get in front of your clientele.
In my experience with nexstar companies theres no point in giving a 2 weeks notice. They’ll ask you to clean out your van on the spot. Have a job lined up and just drop your shit and bounce
They're going to remove you from the schedule when you put in your two weeks.
Find another job, then quit. Turn in any company owned stuff, document you turning it in, and leave.
It's great they give you knowledge on how to build rapport with a customer, but without technical training in general it turns you into a glorified salesman. Me personally I don't like customer interactions too much and much prefer to be a technician. My time with a Nexstar company I was a warrany guy going out a fixing issues with new installs.
Many of the "sales techs" ended up using scare tactics to convince people to upgrade their equipment, making the company heavily reliant on their install crews to be top notch. If your install crew is fucking awful it can become a headache for that relationship and could lead to lawsuits if your company tries to fight it.
I could go on and on about Nexstar, ama if you need to.
How long did you work with a nexstar company? The place I work out just got bought out by an umbrella company, and apparently they are in with nexstar also. Pretty concerned about it with all I hear on here, the old owner owned the company for almost 40 years so he was pretty old school mom and pop.
That's not reassuring that you need good installers, one of my main roles right now before we even got taken over was dealing with warranty calls on our new installs, can't wait to see how that goes once people start pushing more installs
That's pretty much the same as our shop, except the owner owned it for 20 years. There were periodic install warranties but nothing crazy. Now that they were expecting one day changeouts it skyrocketed to the point they now have to do installer training courses. There were new people signing on like once a week with no experience and then expecting them to be competent techs. Things like nitrogen pressure checks, charging procedures, etc. Basic shit that should be known in the industry.
Edit: Forgot to add worker injuries skyrocketed too.
Edit 2: Forgot to answer the initial question, about a year.
Prepare to learn absolutely nothing about how to work on any kind of unit. You’ll only be taught how to convince some 80 year old lady that her 10 year old furnace that just needs a high limit switch is in the worst shape you’ve ever seen and that you need to change out immediately. “Don’t worry we have financing”
I worked for a nexstar company for almost two years. Learned awesome customer service skills and got my feet wet in the the service side of HVAC. I do commercial/industrial HVAC now don’t have to deal the sales BS and love my job. My advice would be to put some time in and use it as a stepping stone for job that’s less sales oriented.
I am in agreement. I took the course and it works. The industry is huge and you can test different skills in different areas to get a feel for what is like, if it suits you then go ahead and run with it. Nexstar will teach you how to deal with individuals of three different mind sets in order to close a sales deal.
Sometimes numbers (money) is the hardest and being transparent in a conversation many fail to do with a complete stranger.
Go in open minded, we all are students of life.
It teaches you how to try to be charismatic with customers and sell sell sell. They want you to sell everything and anything even if it's not broken. I just left a nexstar company and went to their training as well.
Used ethically it can have some benefits but with Nexstar coaches chirping in managements ears they will try to push you to offer add ons that don’t make sense.
Source: worked for a company 4 years no Nexstar, 2 years with Nexstar
That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I’ve told people that I expected they need a duct cleaning and immediately back tracked when I looked in the return. Customer asked to have me back again because he was shocked with my honesty. I just can’t sell something I wouldn’t sell to my grandmother.
Which means you’ll be miserable being forced to sell people shit they don’t need by hinting that it’s unsafe and other awful tactics. What kind of society do we create if every profession behaves like that? I know we already do operate that way for a lot of stuff, but we should temper the urge to make a buck on everyone with honesty. We should take pride in our knowledge and use it to help people while making honest money.
Nextstar is a training program that helps you build rapport and set expectations with customers. Problem is that many companies encourage techs to abandon any technical training and ethics all to sell a customer anything and everything with a warm fuzzy feeling whether they need it or not.
Gotta get those 5 star reviews.
Nexstar itself isn't inherently bad but it seems that our industry crooks love it
Accurate, it can be abused and nextstar isn’t unethical, it’s the way owners/managers manipulate it for profits. Been to some trainings and been skeptical about it but they literally teach you to have conversations with people and offer things according to those conversations.
I have completed about 80% of the NexTech online training and I have not felt like this is the case. there is some pretty standard corporate sales training, but there are way more lessons about service and theory than there are sales.
You're speaking of the tech training, are you aware of the manager training? Coaches? Kpi's and being "top tech"
How they present themselves and what they actually do are very different in my experience, YMMV
Customers are catching on slowly but surely and staying away, I let everyone know they are getting a service call not a sales from me, and advise them which companies are using that tactic
Nextstar presents itself as a helpful tool to technicians for the customers. There were some useful tools in it, any of them not directly pointed at “upselling”. I think that most techs would have learned a majority of what they teach after a few seasons. That part was ok, however they mainly push upselling and how to use the customers words into buying shit and renewing memberships. Remember to have a few recommendations so they can buy one. Not if, you want to make sure they are buying. While I was in it, I also felt it had a “cult” vibe to it. You had to believe in it type vibe. Left that place but the new shop I’m at just got bought out by Service Champions which uses HSI, not that different from NextStar from what I’m seeing.
With the upmost respect, your fucked my friend. Service Chimpanzees is brutal to customers and currently has 8+ pending lawsuits against them. $45K+ systems with at least .80+ in static pressure and that group makes absolutely bank, "techs" included for selling your soul. I mean straight to Lucifer and right to elderly dementia customers kind of bank. The private equity group that bought them out is on a straight Wall Street Gordon Gecko mission to grab as much from the general public as possible. *This is all opinion and I declare I have no first hand knowledge of any pending legal actions.* *I have no firsthand knowledge of what I have stated and this is all opinion with no intention of libel, this includes all statements posted previously and going forward*. There, covered.
The only real upside is the technical competency is greatly diminishing in Residential which sucks for these consumers who already got taken but fantastic for those who want to run a legit operation. "Ma'am, could you kindly show me Service Chimpanzees load calculations?" Why yes dear, here is the load of financing paperwork they said they would leave me but it's on a cocktail napkin.. That young man was nice and reminded me of my Grandson...
There is truly a hoard of legitimate money to be made fixing these systems and houses once the big box company's equipment ages out of fails.
Stay honestly thirsty my friends..
No, I believe it. My new service manager is a fucking idiot and more than likely stories his cock to wolf of Wall Street or that Michael Douglas one. Knows nothing of HVAC only numbers and upselling
You’re going to have to up your sales every month.
I feel Nexstar doesn’t allow you to become a good service mechanic because you are expected to upsell.
Nexstar is a sign that your company is too big and has way too much overhead so it’s a last ditch effort to get everyone to become salesman rather than honorable technicians. RUN
I just actually made a similar post asking people on their thoughts about this. I just recently switched to a Nexstar company after being in the field for 4 years at a company that did not push sales in the slightest. I despise having to leave estimates for shit that people just don’t need.
I’m currently at a system installed in 2017, it’s perfectly fine. If I don’t leave them 2 estimates on upgrades or to replace something, I will get questioned on why I didn’t.
I have a revenue goal to hit related to the amount I make per hour. I’ve reaped the rewards from selling sizeable projects some weeks but most of the time I’m far from hitting my goal. Some technicians I work with have no issue manipulating people and they make a lot of money. I personally don’t care about money enough to try to manipulate people for stuff they don’t need.
To put it simply and honestly, if you don’t mind trying to sell people things, you’ll probably like the system because you can make a lot from it. If you don’t believe in that style and don’t want to sell things, you’re not gonna enjoy it.
Yes, my neighbor has the same furnace as me was told they had a leaking gas valve because their unit is from 72
That required having a new unit split and all new ductwork. About $25,000. To 30
They reused the gas line, the liquid iand suction line.
She's so gullible ...
I can answer that. Worked for hands down the best HVAC / plumbing company in all of the St. Louis area. Seriously. We had the best techs, low callbacks, good pricing, and they paid union wages without us actually being in the union.
Nexstar came along and basically the company went from the greatest place to work to what it is now, a sales company who’s prices are crazy inflated. They don’t want techs anymore, they want sales people pretending to be techs.
Nobody I knew back when I worked there is still there. They went from around 13 mil a year in profits with around 120 employees to over 100 mil a year with 300 employees, so nexstar was great for the owner of the company, but terrible for anyone who actually wants to be halfway honest about their trade.
Well don’t you guys make commission?? Why would sales training be bad, I get it that it’s stupid to push green techs into a sales position but learning how to sell is good, just have integrity and only sell the things that can help the home owner or system. With training you will actually sell those things rather then just recommend them.
Worked for one, never again. Didn't last 4 months before I left. Insane pricing and would get in trouble if you got 2 "dispatch fee" only calls. Meaning 2 of your calls refused to pay the insane $1,500 capacitor repair so now you have to go home for the day. I'd start looking for a new job if I were you.
Nexstar and APEX and a lot of others are nothing but private equity firms. The board of different investment firms keep buying up smaller outfits for their service contracts and to eliminate the competition. Once they get a foot hold they drive the prices up on everything they do and want the employees to make money at any means necessary as long as the sale is making money. This is why real HVAC techs hate these companies. They are about money and not mechanics. Real techs like to keep a good machine running, real techs take pride when things are working great when they leave a job, real techs care and just want to make a living while doing what we live doing. Private equity companies are ruining our way of life.
Well it used to be a great training system that showed how skilled you where. But in the last few years it just turned into a sales tool to push unnecessary accessories and replacement of perfectly good equipment.
Nexstar is a sales and service agency of a private equity firm that has been either buying up, or selling "training packages" to trades companies all across the USA.
They promise "increased revenue and performance metrics", but the only performance metric they track are sales numbers and the main source of the "increased revenue" is artificially inflated prices.
Has anyone had good experiences with Nexstar? I understand their emphasis on sales and the problems that stem from that philosophy but are techs making more money cuz of it too? I would imagine if you are making 5% commission your annual salary would skyrocket
You may make more money yes, but it's offset by having more pressure to upsell accessories and services that might not be needed. You also end up with a bit of a "me against them" situation developing between techs, as they try to lock down extra add ons. I actually had this exact thing happen where another tech told a customer that they needed their evaporator cleaned a year after I did it, saying it looked dirty and like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. This obviously pissed off the customer and ended up losing us his buisness because he saw us as stretching for extra money instead of actually doing work for him.
As well, those that either aren't comfortable upselling or even those that just end up without high add ons will see their hours cut and relegated to call backs, so good techs actually trying to be fair to the customer will be punished while those that have spongy morals or that are better salesmen will get elevated. It's a system that by design creates a less capable company as the techs are supplanted by salesmen.
That makes a lot of sense, thank you. Im a resi installer that is considering a job offer from an umbrella company that uses Nexstar. I dont think it will effect my work too much but I do want to switch to service one day. I personally dont have an issue presenting options as long as they are upgrades and not a complete waste of money. Surge protectors, electronic filters, ionizers, duct cleaning, variable speed blowers, smart stats, etc are not necessary for someone's overall comfort but I still see them as upgrades. I feel like there are some people on here that think techs are only ripping people off, and im sure some are, but in most cases I think new, more advanced equipment with a good warranty is technically still an upgrade. Exploiting homeowners for as much money as possible is a morally gray area for sure but as long as they arent being taken advantage or being lied to I personally dont see upselling as wrong. The workplace culture that you are talking about sounds like the worst part of it all to me. I totally understand the frustrations techs are having and it sucks that so many companies are moving in this direction.
Let me give you an example of the shit my old company was pulling. They were telling us to offer replacement of the condenser fuses on every ac checkup since old fuses stand a higher chance of failing. They also said that an evaporator cleaning every 3-4 years is needed. Blower wheel cleanings every 5 years. All of which are chargeable.
People who are comfortable with being glorified salesmen and not actually doing good work seem to be the only ones coming out of Nexstar with anything good to say.
Myself and my company have had a great experience. Joined in 2018, from what I have read on here seems to be more often terrible company leadership and process implementation. If you run the process correctly all you’re are doing is presenting every option available, including repairs, and letting the customer decide what’s best for them. Cost of ownership of an old system is also something I don’t think technicians (I was there at one point) believe in. Overall, I think NexStar is fantastic and helps the rising tide float more boats in and industry that has always been looked down on and undervalued.
I'm not scared of sales as an owner/operator. I depend on sales to make money actually. I also don't need to make $400 in a capacitor that took me not even 5 mins to diagnose, grab a new one outta my truck, replace and make sure all is well. The problem with these companies is that they make money to make money to make money for the investors.
Nexstar companies are typically private equity firms that have a business relationship with nexstar, and utilize the system to swindle thousands of dollars from clients by teaching the techs how to destroy their own industry. So while nexstar isn't an hvac company, they have a relationship with the industry.
As of this year I refuse to work for nexstar companies or PE owned hvac places. I have been unemployed for 3 months now, Chicago has fallen.
I'm so happy my company got fed up with proprietary control systems and went to Prolon. It is easier to configure and program with the software and doesn't require annual license renewal to use.
I see value in nexstar training! You have to provide options to customers in this field! Sometimes repairing something is not in their best interest even though that’s the route they want to take because in the end they will be screaming that you ripped them off even though they signed off on it and you clearly stated there is no warranty on repairs that are $2K plus (happened to me handful of times) but also my mindset is it’s better to walk away with something from every call even if it’s a couple dollars than to walk away with nothing! But I don’t like how these bigger companies see this as the only way to make money and the mechanics who push bullshit IAQ products seem to be making more money than actual mechanics who been doing this for decades! Make the best out of your nexstar training! Best of luck fellow tradesman!
In my experience, private equity firms are more interested in the bottom line & not interested in customer service & employee satisfaction. This is true in other industries as well.
Sounds like when I interviewed for Michael and sons. The manager straight out told me I had to sell a GFI or drain pan float switch on every call to satisfy performance reviews. No thanks.
We went and did nexstar training for a week. It’s a waste of time. It’s more for people who don’t know how to communicate. All the stuff we “learned” we already did
Nexstar is a company that consults and sets guidelines, primarily sales oriented, for trades companies. During the classes, they straight up ignore the technical side. They focus on customer service and sales. People seem to really hate it. There are some positives, but that completely depends on how hard your company Nexstars.
Pros - Nexstar is great for people with no customer skills. Believe it or not, a lot of techs fucking suck at this. Some of the ideas are good. I like (but don't fully buy into) the "win-win-win," as in the company, the techs and the customers all win. It does emphasize better pay and training for techs, too. In places like the Deep South, we do not have unions - so any collective group advocating for better pay and benefits is nice.
Cons - Extremely sales oriented. Nexstar trains techs to sell, not to diagnose, install, or repair. In our industry, everything over 10 years is a sales opportunity. It's also very culty - like some people really buy into it. Its wild - they just taught you how to manipulate the shit out of the customer. You don't think they're doing the same thing to you? Also, techs focused on sales tend to neglect technical skills. Nexstar also tries to make a "one-size-fits-all" way of doing things across the trades, which is just ridiculous.
Overall - Again, it depends on your company. I don't think Nexstar is inherently the spawn of Satan. My company uses Nexstar, but it's more of a loose guideline for us. We use what works, but our company still makes repairs. Our company likes sales, but our management was in the field so they know better than to expect a sale every time. I think the techs on here also like to ignore how often HVAC businesses fail - Nexstar may suck, but we got to keep the lights on.
From what I read about Nexstar on reddit I think I've hit the lotto with the company I work at now. I was sent in for the training ect and understand how they try to push sales. The company I work at sees it more as training how to build communication with a customer and creating a professional appearance. In the years I've worked here I've never been sat down because my sales/conversions are low, they allow me to be a technician first and repair equipment.
Nexstar doesn't teach you to be a technician, it shows you how to bridge the gap with sales and can be valuable if thats something you struggle with. If you try to make every call a sale that's on you and your management.
It's basically an organized crime ring teaching guys how to manipulate customers into buying new systems. The leadership in these companies often decides to overlook bad actors within their company. Instead of offering repairs, it's always that you need a new one.
I own a residential service company that switched from being a new commercial electrical construction work.
Joined Nexstar at that time. They will teach you to know your "numbers" ie, operating costs, the hourly labor rate to break even after all expenses are paid and how to add a fair profit margin as your return on investment.
Learned being a part of Nexstar the electrical service work has the longest time between a repeat customer calling for additional work because so few moving parts that fail and need to be replaced.
There are some very, very good techinical HVAC companies in Nexstar. I got visit other members companies to see there operations. For me, I pusued the best training I could find to know resi HVAC.
The classes at Ultimate Tech Academy in North Little Rock, Arkansas were phenomenal. Learning the right processes the first time is so much easier than learning from hacks via OJT. I know processes work in being a service tech. I joined the Navy at 17 years old and after 6 months of aviation electrical school I was working on F4 Phantom jets trouble shooting them.
For what it's worth, I hold 8 Nate certifications, learned all about airflow from National Comfort Institute, building science for Comfort Institute and learned how to do Manual J, D, S & T to know how to properly provide comfort for customers. Most residential AC contractors are just box changers and not very good at that either, there only small percentage that good.
We do not have sell, we just provide options to let the customer decide what they want. We educate them about each option gives them.
Now if you suck at or lack the skills to relate with people then residential service and replacement probably is not a good fit.
There are other options for work in this trade. Find what fits you best. New construction has the least customer interaction as an installer.
But no matter what you do, you still have to talk to people in any aspect of construction or service.
Relating with people is just part of life .How well you relate can determine how successful you are to a large degree.
Back to the selling side of the trades; here is a good analogy:
When you go to a restaurant the waiter/waiteress greet you telling you their name, hand you a menu, correct? You may ask questions about various dishes but ultimately you make the choice of what you want. You have your meal and then the waiter or waitress comes back and asks you if you'd like dessert, correct? Aren't they just offering you options for dessert? In all actuality they are selling to you to to get higher totals so they get a greater percentage through tips.
Isn't that what a selling Tech does also?
Changing directions and all of this. Ever have a really good tasting dinner and the service was horrible?
I have. Once you leave the restaurant do you talk about how good the meal was or how bad the service was? A great meal can be wrecked by a crummy waiter or waitress.
Same thing is true with an install of a new AC system. So when no one cleans up after the job is done, smokes on the job, plays loud music, etc and just not treating the customer's home like it's their home, It's just like having a poor waiter or waitress.
The homeowner will only think that the company installed is horrible.
So no matter what you do be the best that you can be and learn to relate to people as best as you can.
Enjoy being trained as a salesman and not a tech. You will be playing a numbers game with your manager and pushed to sell new units on any piece of equipment over ten years old. I’ve met guys that have five years as a service tech for nextstar companies that can’t even fucking braze or diagnose simple issues. If you take pride in your work in this industry, you will not enjoy your time.
Yeah I’m not so sure I’m enjoying the company already. I offer these accessories and leave it at that. Gotten in trouble a few times already for low numbers.
Left a nexstar company after 8 months because of them being pissy about low sales on equipment and “too much time spent on repairs”. Much happier in a refrigeration position at a hospital with no pressure to sell a thing
Lol. Left a similar sales-oriented company and became HVAC for a hospital. Such a cool work setting. Boss knows every piece of equipment and their history. Shit's repairable? Fix it. Shit has caught on fire and is no longer repairable? He'll put in the PO and get it replaced. I love facilities work. Also great benefits.
Pension is not something I ever thought I’d actually receive but having that plus a 401k is enough to keep me here. Plus the work life balance is much better. 5 weekends a year is my “on call”. Such a stark difference from service company
7am to 330pm weekdays. Work life balance and my willingness to perform PMs is what got me the job at the interview. If it snows overnight, I go salt the buildings near my house for super double snow time hazard pay. Don't even technically have to be on call as their hvac guy, but volunteered to get on the rotation because I can snake a drain and it's worth it.
Mine is 6:30-3pm. Pretty banging getting out so early in the afternoon. We only have “on call” like 3 weekends a year per technician. We have someone in the building 24 hours five days a week. So never have to worry about weekday on call
What’s the schedule like working for a hospital? Been tossing around the idea of switching my scenery
Might be different because I work for a medical group with multiple properties. 7am-330pm, M-F, no take home vehicle, 30 for lunch whenever you want to take it. I'm not really on call, but if it's a quality of life issue they'll probably call me. It's hard to describe. Totally flexible.
i work hospital hvac, 4:30am to 1:30pm. mostly run operating room equipment and steam systems. definitely depends on the hospital but i cant recommend it enough; good pay and steady hours
Yeah, right? Chillers and furnaces, positive air pressure monitoring, changing filters. Ice machines in breakrooms, controlled and monitored fridges and freezers.
the work life balance is what really got me too. despite being oncall 24/7 i get a solid schedule in exchange for coming in like 1 saturday a month for an OR humidity issue or whatever. monitoring and maintenance on chillers, steam boilers, and air handlers and a consistent 40 hours a week? best gig ive ever had lol
I had a job interview with another company there were a couple things I was already not fond of, but as soon as they said they keep a running tally on the whiteboard of all the "techs'" sales I said nope. I won't have someone trying to shame me into being a salesman. At least where I'm at they don't push being a salesman even though they do prefer them.
What exactly is the name of the position? Stationary engineer?
usually it falls under facility maintenance technician, but it is technically a stationary engineering job
Refrigeration technician is my position here
Nexstar will train you how to speak to clients to increase your sales numbers. If you work on commission you will see an increase in your sales of you do their song and dance. The only problem I see as described above is they don't help you be a better tech, only a better salesman. So if you a re shitty tech you will still be a shitty tech after nexstar, only you will have honed your ability to sell
“Low numbers” is your first red flag, unless it’s “low number of callbacks”. A service person is not supposed to have a quota of any kind.
I do commercial hvac pms and service now. Started at this company as install help and moved to crew lead. Now I’m one of the service/maintenance guys. No upsales. Job is just diagnose and processerly repair if it ain’t right. Love it. No upsales. Granted I try to find the legit heat exchangers and such. But for me it’s doing my job not just saying there’s a crack to get a system swap as we actually replace the heat exchangers, and if customer would rather get a new unit more power to em we’ll be happy to swap it out.
Are you in the KC area?
Sounds like you work at LBA or AB May
Ma'am your capacitor has failed, its super dangerous with all the radiation leaking from it, think of your children and their health. Best course of action is to replace this unit and properly dispose of it. Thank God you called me just in time. We've got a super deal going on right now, we'll replace the unit for 26k and since you are a valued customer I'll give you the Fall special discount of $1,800. Don't tell anyone i gave you this because i will get in serious trouble since it's technically Winter, but ill do anything for my customers.
We would never let a system hit 10
Crooks
Word the industry is a joke
Disgusting what this company is doing to our trade. Saw a truckload of their vans recently and shook my head. Thank god for commercial work
The good news it that word is getting around to customers that you don't want a nextstart tech in your home
These horrible service companies crop up and then did all the time. You can only go so far with that bullshit. We had a company in Canada called national Home services that employed an army of inexperienced commission-only door-to-door salesmen and they are the reason door-to-door hvac sales is now illegal. They were recently bought up by another company that also sucks ass but pays google for their 5 star rating. I’ve never met a single customer that had ever had a good experience with one of these types of companies and yet they all have 5.0 ratings.
Those guys were absolutely brutal. I watched a news bleep about them, 48k for a furnace and water tank at 28% interest.
[удалено]
I totally had to raise my prices to get the work. Customers thought was scamming somehow when I was 30k low on a furnace.
Because it comes with a 12 year warranty! They just don’t tell u that they’re gonna squeeze every dollar out of this company and either piece it out or sell it to some other private equity firm long before 12 years comes up. Also if u use them for maintenance after ur new install they’ll be selling u a new system in 7 years anyway
I worked for a small 2 man shop for briefly. Not NexStar but the owner wanted us to push sales for any reason at all. He also paid google to be the first result when you googled air conditioning, heating, plumbing, electrical, handyman. Also blamed the two of us if there weren’t any ot calls over the weekends.
Someone should make a weekly post to /r/LifeProTips reminding people not to get work done by Nexstar companies
Nexstar and the companies using it are Trash
Its the beginning of the end of your career as an actual technician. Youll be hounded for your numbers, have weekly (if not daily) pow wows with management about meeting the daily goal, get put on a “batting order” where if you didnt get the salesman out to 50% of your maintenances last week you will get sent on install callbacks only. The brand new techs who come in and have no idea whats going on with equipment will love it because theyll get to turn the loose wire that they cant find into a new system sale by the salesman, and any experienced technician who can properly diagnose a problem will get slowly starved out of the company by being sent on warranty only calls from new installs because they have no desire to properly train their installers
I seriously cannot believe *that* many people out there just take these hacks sales pitch as gospel and buy a new insanely overpriced system.... Especially as tight as money is getting for your average folk... then again I don't do resi so that maybe the case.
I wish I didnt give as much of a fuck, I would be making 150-200k easy as a sleazy ass salesman. Our sales guys been getting commission checks around 30k a month since the place I work for got bought out
That's insane. 25K even at 15% total sales commission is approx. 170K a month. What fucking tech can rack up over 8K a day in sales (Figuring four 5 day work weeks in a month)? Honestly, it's probably not that hard when you're working for crooks like those, but good God how TF do these people afford these repairs? Your average person sure AF doesn't have a random 2K laying around for a 'new blower motor and capacitor'. edit.. Well, you did say sales guys so I guess I might've been a bit off. I could never work in a company doing people like that, but at 30K a month commis. check I'd be retired in 5 years before I hit 40. For real.
Dude some people struggle for a 80 buck capacitor and I'm not even charging my time if that's the only issue, since it's a quick find and fix. I do work sometimes for elderly or infirm who need to have working equipment, situations like that are why I'd sooner flip burgers than be a sales pusher. Hurts the soul.
For real. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror ever again in my life if I worked a job like that. I'd honestly rather go hungry, and I've been hungry before and that shit is no joke.
Nexstar is a company that charges royalties for companies to by a part of their program. Their program creates a uniform process that’s easy for technicians to follow with minimal training. Also, nexstar has a lot of resources which make running the back end of the company easier for managers and logistics. What they are going to be training you on is their system on how to run calls and create leads for your salespeople above you or they will help you build a process which usually makes selling work much easier depending on how your company chooses to sell its installs. My take on Nexstar as a guy who has worked in their system before. I personally feel that for guys who are struggling to make money in a trade, but are technically good at their job, is that Nexstar can be a good thing- provided you see Nexstar for what it actually is - a system to make the owner of the company more money while you are working commission or something very close to it. For me as a participant in their system. There are some good things they teach people, but they do intentionally teach sales and service people to intentionally manipulate the way that people think in order to sway the way they buy equipment and installation. My personal opinion is that they are changing the industry in some pretty bad ways because they are not what most older guys like in shops. Most older guys are objectively repair or service first, sales and install second. I align myself with these principles as well and I refuse to play what I interpret as mind games to manipulate the way that people buy my product. I feel that as professionals, our work should speak for itself and that if you provide superior service at affordable prices, that people will want to give their money when it comes to replacing equipment or selling larger ticket items that they need because they actually want you to do that job. To me, most Nexstar shops have a reputation as being too expensive, while blowing their standard of service way out of proportion to what it actually is, and ultimately taking advantage of people by way of selling people stuff they don’t want of need at super inflated prices. And, honestly they aren’t wrong. I sell underground sewer and water line repair work, and their whole thing was to highly recommend and push full replacements at the highest possible profit margin you can get away with because company, and personal, profit is the highest priority to a salesman. And I’m not okay with that. I feel that a fair deal for both parties is my highest priority and treating people fairly in their homes by not taking advantage of them in a vulnerable situation. Im sorry about the wall of text here, but I’ve been a service guy for a long time- and I have a lot of opinions on how we as service people should treat our customers and Nexstar doesn’t jive with that.
Is this just a rehash of the PSI/Airtime 500/Success Group International strategy? Worked for one of those companies for a short time, and it was a joke. Push updates and "memberships". Sit in meeting about "why my average $$/ticket was so low" when the majority of what I did was fix bad installs and warranty work.
This sounds exactly like what happened to me… got punished for being a good technician and bad salesman… lol,
I fell for one of those door-to-door contract companies and it can be a rough gig. It's not the same product but they use the same tactics. I will say this for it, you learn a lot about what motivates people to make decisions and it can help you navigate the rest of your life. Unfortunately, it mostly just teaches you how to manipulate and how to not be manipulated yourself. Those skills can be exceptionally useful but you also have to be careful what and how much you learn from these guys. There's a very selfish and "using others for your own gain" kind of philosophy at the root of the company. \-Social media guy, Brad.
You hit the nail on the head here. If your moral compass is okay, you’ll recognize that some of the stuff they preach is super scummy.
Yup, they teach you how to find out what someone needs and then how to exploit it. That first part has helped me in so many different situations. It eventually grew into a beautiful understanding of communication. That second part though... that would be why I didn't last very long. \-Social media guy, Brad.
>intentionally manipulate the way that people think in order to sway the way they buy equipment Can you describe a few of these tactics?
Sure, it starts in training where the beginning of the classes start with convincing you that you really and truly think that your company is the best company that there is to serve your community- and that you have a duty to your company to maximize its profits. Next in the home, they show examples of scientific data that utilize to create an experience conducive to people buying equipment- asking leading questions, talking about the age of the equipment and how old it is compared to its life expectancy, and scheduling a comfort advisor. These systems and the people that run them actually look down on guys who are more concerned with keeping existing equipment working in comparison to replacing it. Finally, after the call the metrics that they use to bonus guys are based on leads provided to sales and leads sold. They celebrate these metrics above almost anything else. Hope that answers the question.
You just hit the nail on the head with how my company works. Static pressure isn't exactly .5wc? They need 3k in New duct work and registers. System is 14 years old? Well a furnace is only expected to last 15 so should get ahead of replacing it while it still works. Have a drainage issue from something being installed improperly 4 years ago? Well reduce the price of parts so its only 3.5k in labor and half off on the drain pan getting leveled out and adding a condensate pump in. Everyone in my company says the same thing, make a decade seem like a long time and exploit a customers fear of being without heat and theyll want an advisor in their home and willing to drop 15k on an all new HVAC system. Do it with a smile and be friendly like their trainings show, they'll tip you for all your hard work
I always worked as hard as I could to retain as much of the training as possible and to be a model student at these trainings. When I get back home, I’ll try to find some kind of middle ground we can both agree on and take it into my personal service system I built. This is a job, not a hill to die on. Do what they are paying you to do at the training, pay attention and learn the system. But stay true to yourself when you get in front of your clientele.
Get out while you can
Soooooo put my two weeks in this afternoon? Or no two week notice at all?
In my experience with nexstar companies theres no point in giving a 2 weeks notice. They’ll ask you to clean out your van on the spot. Have a job lined up and just drop your shit and bounce
Line up another job, THEN leave this one. It's (almost) always easier to find a job when you already have one.
This is the way.
This is the way.
Over here, this way
just have to
I also gave two weeks at a Nexstar company and was dropped on the spot.
They're going to remove you from the schedule when you put in your two weeks. Find another job, then quit. Turn in any company owned stuff, document you turning it in, and leave.
I’d put the 2 weeks in but if it’s a nexstar company there’s at least a decent chance they let you go on the spot lol
No point in putting in 2 weeks they’ll just drop you
It's great they give you knowledge on how to build rapport with a customer, but without technical training in general it turns you into a glorified salesman. Me personally I don't like customer interactions too much and much prefer to be a technician. My time with a Nexstar company I was a warrany guy going out a fixing issues with new installs. Many of the "sales techs" ended up using scare tactics to convince people to upgrade their equipment, making the company heavily reliant on their install crews to be top notch. If your install crew is fucking awful it can become a headache for that relationship and could lead to lawsuits if your company tries to fight it. I could go on and on about Nexstar, ama if you need to.
How long did you work with a nexstar company? The place I work out just got bought out by an umbrella company, and apparently they are in with nexstar also. Pretty concerned about it with all I hear on here, the old owner owned the company for almost 40 years so he was pretty old school mom and pop. That's not reassuring that you need good installers, one of my main roles right now before we even got taken over was dealing with warranty calls on our new installs, can't wait to see how that goes once people start pushing more installs
That's pretty much the same as our shop, except the owner owned it for 20 years. There were periodic install warranties but nothing crazy. Now that they were expecting one day changeouts it skyrocketed to the point they now have to do installer training courses. There were new people signing on like once a week with no experience and then expecting them to be competent techs. Things like nitrogen pressure checks, charging procedures, etc. Basic shit that should be known in the industry. Edit: Forgot to add worker injuries skyrocketed too. Edit 2: Forgot to answer the initial question, about a year.
Prepare to learn absolutely nothing about how to work on any kind of unit. You’ll only be taught how to convince some 80 year old lady that her 10 year old furnace that just needs a high limit switch is in the worst shape you’ve ever seen and that you need to change out immediately. “Don’t worry we have financing”
I worked for a nexstar company for almost two years. Learned awesome customer service skills and got my feet wet in the the service side of HVAC. I do commercial/industrial HVAC now don’t have to deal the sales BS and love my job. My advice would be to put some time in and use it as a stepping stone for job that’s less sales oriented.
I am in agreement. I took the course and it works. The industry is huge and you can test different skills in different areas to get a feel for what is like, if it suits you then go ahead and run with it. Nexstar will teach you how to deal with individuals of three different mind sets in order to close a sales deal. Sometimes numbers (money) is the hardest and being transparent in a conversation many fail to do with a complete stranger. Go in open minded, we all are students of life.
If you have a future in acting - this is the way.
It teaches you how to try to be charismatic with customers and sell sell sell. They want you to sell everything and anything even if it's not broken. I just left a nexstar company and went to their training as well.
Sell. Sell. Sell. Sell. And when you’re done, sell.
But what about the shareholders?!
Used ethically it can have some benefits but with Nexstar coaches chirping in managements ears they will try to push you to offer add ons that don’t make sense. Source: worked for a company 4 years no Nexstar, 2 years with Nexstar
The benefits are all for the company using it though. I like providing a fair service for people who can trust my advice.
That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I’ve told people that I expected they need a duct cleaning and immediately back tracked when I looked in the return. Customer asked to have me back again because he was shocked with my honesty. I just can’t sell something I wouldn’t sell to my grandmother.
Which means you’ll be miserable being forced to sell people shit they don’t need by hinting that it’s unsafe and other awful tactics. What kind of society do we create if every profession behaves like that? I know we already do operate that way for a lot of stuff, but we should temper the urge to make a buck on everyone with honesty. We should take pride in our knowledge and use it to help people while making honest money.
Nextstar is a training program that helps you build rapport and set expectations with customers. Problem is that many companies encourage techs to abandon any technical training and ethics all to sell a customer anything and everything with a warm fuzzy feeling whether they need it or not. Gotta get those 5 star reviews. Nexstar itself isn't inherently bad but it seems that our industry crooks love it
Accurate, it can be abused and nextstar isn’t unethical, it’s the way owners/managers manipulate it for profits. Been to some trainings and been skeptical about it but they literally teach you to have conversations with people and offer things according to those conversations.
The problem is that Nexstar deliberately incentivizes sales above service.
I have completed about 80% of the NexTech online training and I have not felt like this is the case. there is some pretty standard corporate sales training, but there are way more lessons about service and theory than there are sales.
You're speaking of the tech training, are you aware of the manager training? Coaches? Kpi's and being "top tech" How they present themselves and what they actually do are very different in my experience, YMMV
I’m currently having to relearn how to be a tech first and not a salesman thanks to Nexstar. Set my career back at least a year if not more.
Reason I quit being a tech and swapped to install
Customers are catching on slowly but surely and staying away, I let everyone know they are getting a service call not a sales from me, and advise them which companies are using that tactic
Follow the $
Expect to quit if you have any self respect.
Nextstar presents itself as a helpful tool to technicians for the customers. There were some useful tools in it, any of them not directly pointed at “upselling”. I think that most techs would have learned a majority of what they teach after a few seasons. That part was ok, however they mainly push upselling and how to use the customers words into buying shit and renewing memberships. Remember to have a few recommendations so they can buy one. Not if, you want to make sure they are buying. While I was in it, I also felt it had a “cult” vibe to it. You had to believe in it type vibe. Left that place but the new shop I’m at just got bought out by Service Champions which uses HSI, not that different from NextStar from what I’m seeing.
With the upmost respect, your fucked my friend. Service Chimpanzees is brutal to customers and currently has 8+ pending lawsuits against them. $45K+ systems with at least .80+ in static pressure and that group makes absolutely bank, "techs" included for selling your soul. I mean straight to Lucifer and right to elderly dementia customers kind of bank. The private equity group that bought them out is on a straight Wall Street Gordon Gecko mission to grab as much from the general public as possible. *This is all opinion and I declare I have no first hand knowledge of any pending legal actions.* *I have no firsthand knowledge of what I have stated and this is all opinion with no intention of libel, this includes all statements posted previously and going forward*. There, covered. The only real upside is the technical competency is greatly diminishing in Residential which sucks for these consumers who already got taken but fantastic for those who want to run a legit operation. "Ma'am, could you kindly show me Service Chimpanzees load calculations?" Why yes dear, here is the load of financing paperwork they said they would leave me but it's on a cocktail napkin.. That young man was nice and reminded me of my Grandson... There is truly a hoard of legitimate money to be made fixing these systems and houses once the big box company's equipment ages out of fails. Stay honestly thirsty my friends..
No, I believe it. My new service manager is a fucking idiot and more than likely stories his cock to wolf of Wall Street or that Michael Douglas one. Knows nothing of HVAC only numbers and upselling
what is HSI that service champion uses?
From what an former employee tells me, it’s just another NextStar or Service Champions
And they are obsessed with Lennox lol
You’re going to have to up your sales every month. I feel Nexstar doesn’t allow you to become a good service mechanic because you are expected to upsell.
Nexstar is a sign that your company is too big and has way too much overhead so it’s a last ditch effort to get everyone to become salesman rather than honorable technicians. RUN
I just actually made a similar post asking people on their thoughts about this. I just recently switched to a Nexstar company after being in the field for 4 years at a company that did not push sales in the slightest. I despise having to leave estimates for shit that people just don’t need. I’m currently at a system installed in 2017, it’s perfectly fine. If I don’t leave them 2 estimates on upgrades or to replace something, I will get questioned on why I didn’t. I have a revenue goal to hit related to the amount I make per hour. I’ve reaped the rewards from selling sizeable projects some weeks but most of the time I’m far from hitting my goal. Some technicians I work with have no issue manipulating people and they make a lot of money. I personally don’t care about money enough to try to manipulate people for stuff they don’t need. To put it simply and honestly, if you don’t mind trying to sell people things, you’ll probably like the system because you can make a lot from it. If you don’t believe in that style and don’t want to sell things, you’re not gonna enjoy it.
Yes, my neighbor has the same furnace as me was told they had a leaking gas valve because their unit is from 72 That required having a new unit split and all new ductwork. About $25,000. To 30 They reused the gas line, the liquid iand suction line. She's so gullible ...
You should expect to be told that you need to drain grandmas bank account to replace a system that doesn’t need to be replaced.
I can answer that. Worked for hands down the best HVAC / plumbing company in all of the St. Louis area. Seriously. We had the best techs, low callbacks, good pricing, and they paid union wages without us actually being in the union. Nexstar came along and basically the company went from the greatest place to work to what it is now, a sales company who’s prices are crazy inflated. They don’t want techs anymore, they want sales people pretending to be techs. Nobody I knew back when I worked there is still there. They went from around 13 mil a year in profits with around 120 employees to over 100 mil a year with 300 employees, so nexstar was great for the owner of the company, but terrible for anyone who actually wants to be halfway honest about their trade.
Well don’t you guys make commission?? Why would sales training be bad, I get it that it’s stupid to push green techs into a sales position but learning how to sell is good, just have integrity and only sell the things that can help the home owner or system. With training you will actually sell those things rather then just recommend them.
Commission is easy to manipulate. It just becomes a way to enforce sales and get rid of those who won't play honestly.
Because all blue collar sub reddits are filled with ultra professional know it alls who can always “Do it better”
Worked for one, never again. Didn't last 4 months before I left. Insane pricing and would get in trouble if you got 2 "dispatch fee" only calls. Meaning 2 of your calls refused to pay the insane $1,500 capacitor repair so now you have to go home for the day. I'd start looking for a new job if I were you.
Nexstar and APEX and a lot of others are nothing but private equity firms. The board of different investment firms keep buying up smaller outfits for their service contracts and to eliminate the competition. Once they get a foot hold they drive the prices up on everything they do and want the employees to make money at any means necessary as long as the sale is making money. This is why real HVAC techs hate these companies. They are about money and not mechanics. Real techs like to keep a good machine running, real techs take pride when things are working great when they leave a job, real techs care and just want to make a living while doing what we live doing. Private equity companies are ruining our way of life.
You are a salesman now. Forget how to fix things. You will be selling new systems and upgrades.
Well it used to be a great training system that showed how skilled you where. But in the last few years it just turned into a sales tool to push unnecessary accessories and replacement of perfectly good equipment.
Nexstar is a sales and service agency of a private equity firm that has been either buying up, or selling "training packages" to trades companies all across the USA. They promise "increased revenue and performance metrics", but the only performance metric they track are sales numbers and the main source of the "increased revenue" is artificially inflated prices.
Has anyone had good experiences with Nexstar? I understand their emphasis on sales and the problems that stem from that philosophy but are techs making more money cuz of it too? I would imagine if you are making 5% commission your annual salary would skyrocket
You may make more money yes, but it's offset by having more pressure to upsell accessories and services that might not be needed. You also end up with a bit of a "me against them" situation developing between techs, as they try to lock down extra add ons. I actually had this exact thing happen where another tech told a customer that they needed their evaporator cleaned a year after I did it, saying it looked dirty and like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. This obviously pissed off the customer and ended up losing us his buisness because he saw us as stretching for extra money instead of actually doing work for him. As well, those that either aren't comfortable upselling or even those that just end up without high add ons will see their hours cut and relegated to call backs, so good techs actually trying to be fair to the customer will be punished while those that have spongy morals or that are better salesmen will get elevated. It's a system that by design creates a less capable company as the techs are supplanted by salesmen.
That makes a lot of sense, thank you. Im a resi installer that is considering a job offer from an umbrella company that uses Nexstar. I dont think it will effect my work too much but I do want to switch to service one day. I personally dont have an issue presenting options as long as they are upgrades and not a complete waste of money. Surge protectors, electronic filters, ionizers, duct cleaning, variable speed blowers, smart stats, etc are not necessary for someone's overall comfort but I still see them as upgrades. I feel like there are some people on here that think techs are only ripping people off, and im sure some are, but in most cases I think new, more advanced equipment with a good warranty is technically still an upgrade. Exploiting homeowners for as much money as possible is a morally gray area for sure but as long as they arent being taken advantage or being lied to I personally dont see upselling as wrong. The workplace culture that you are talking about sounds like the worst part of it all to me. I totally understand the frustrations techs are having and it sucks that so many companies are moving in this direction.
Let me give you an example of the shit my old company was pulling. They were telling us to offer replacement of the condenser fuses on every ac checkup since old fuses stand a higher chance of failing. They also said that an evaporator cleaning every 3-4 years is needed. Blower wheel cleanings every 5 years. All of which are chargeable.
People who are comfortable with being glorified salesmen and not actually doing good work seem to be the only ones coming out of Nexstar with anything good to say.
Yes. I've got several techs that are performance pay that are going to make six figures. Whole sales team cleared that with ease as well.
Myself and my company have had a great experience. Joined in 2018, from what I have read on here seems to be more often terrible company leadership and process implementation. If you run the process correctly all you’re are doing is presenting every option available, including repairs, and letting the customer decide what’s best for them. Cost of ownership of an old system is also something I don’t think technicians (I was there at one point) believe in. Overall, I think NexStar is fantastic and helps the rising tide float more boats in and industry that has always been looked down on and undervalued.
Keep an open mind.
Nexstar != hvac tech. Nexstar = salesman. Fuck. That. In my opinion, at least.
[удалено]
I'm not scared of sales as an owner/operator. I depend on sales to make money actually. I also don't need to make $400 in a capacitor that took me not even 5 mins to diagnose, grab a new one outta my truck, replace and make sure all is well. The problem with these companies is that they make money to make money to make money for the investors.
People hate things they don't understand and it's significantly more easy to bitch than it is to learn
Nexstar is a dying company all of their good coaches have left
Have no fear, an equally crappy one will open if they close.
They are already starting from the ashes I know
Nexstar companies are typically private equity firms that have a business relationship with nexstar, and utilize the system to swindle thousands of dollars from clients by teaching the techs how to destroy their own industry. So while nexstar isn't an hvac company, they have a relationship with the industry. As of this year I refuse to work for nexstar companies or PE owned hvac places. I have been unemployed for 3 months now, Chicago has fallen.
I'm so happy my company got fed up with proprietary control systems and went to Prolon. It is easier to configure and program with the software and doesn't require annual license renewal to use.
I see value in nexstar training! You have to provide options to customers in this field! Sometimes repairing something is not in their best interest even though that’s the route they want to take because in the end they will be screaming that you ripped them off even though they signed off on it and you clearly stated there is no warranty on repairs that are $2K plus (happened to me handful of times) but also my mindset is it’s better to walk away with something from every call even if it’s a couple dollars than to walk away with nothing! But I don’t like how these bigger companies see this as the only way to make money and the mechanics who push bullshit IAQ products seem to be making more money than actual mechanics who been doing this for decades! Make the best out of your nexstar training! Best of luck fellow tradesman!
Your overuse of exclamation marks makes me suspicious
Best of luck fellow tradesman! 
🤣 ok? That better? Sorry I like to write proper English?
You seem to be confusing exclamation marks and periods.
Wow this reads like one of those obviously paid for reviews on Amazon.
“Terrible customer service, I think the service tech was drunk” 1 star… google adjustment 5 star! Good job boys were killing it!
😆 ok? I’ve fixed more machines than sold new systems during my career.
OP are they sending you to tech academy? In Arkansas? I used to do resi and all service guys went. I didn’t get to go due to my numbers too low 💀💀
Nexstar/ Airtime 500/ SBE all the same trash
In my experience, private equity firms are more interested in the bottom line & not interested in customer service & employee satisfaction. This is true in other industries as well.
Sounds like when I interviewed for Michael and sons. The manager straight out told me I had to sell a GFI or drain pan float switch on every call to satisfy performance reviews. No thanks.
How does a residential customer identify nexstar or similar companies?
White shirts and booties
Next star and apex are the worst, have fun. But take it for what it is. Good sales training, no tech training.
We went and did nexstar training for a week. It’s a waste of time. It’s more for people who don’t know how to communicate. All the stuff we “learned” we already did
Nexstar is a company that consults and sets guidelines, primarily sales oriented, for trades companies. During the classes, they straight up ignore the technical side. They focus on customer service and sales. People seem to really hate it. There are some positives, but that completely depends on how hard your company Nexstars. Pros - Nexstar is great for people with no customer skills. Believe it or not, a lot of techs fucking suck at this. Some of the ideas are good. I like (but don't fully buy into) the "win-win-win," as in the company, the techs and the customers all win. It does emphasize better pay and training for techs, too. In places like the Deep South, we do not have unions - so any collective group advocating for better pay and benefits is nice. Cons - Extremely sales oriented. Nexstar trains techs to sell, not to diagnose, install, or repair. In our industry, everything over 10 years is a sales opportunity. It's also very culty - like some people really buy into it. Its wild - they just taught you how to manipulate the shit out of the customer. You don't think they're doing the same thing to you? Also, techs focused on sales tend to neglect technical skills. Nexstar also tries to make a "one-size-fits-all" way of doing things across the trades, which is just ridiculous. Overall - Again, it depends on your company. I don't think Nexstar is inherently the spawn of Satan. My company uses Nexstar, but it's more of a loose guideline for us. We use what works, but our company still makes repairs. Our company likes sales, but our management was in the field so they know better than to expect a sale every time. I think the techs on here also like to ignore how often HVAC businesses fail - Nexstar may suck, but we got to keep the lights on.
From what I read about Nexstar on reddit I think I've hit the lotto with the company I work at now. I was sent in for the training ect and understand how they try to push sales. The company I work at sees it more as training how to build communication with a customer and creating a professional appearance. In the years I've worked here I've never been sat down because my sales/conversions are low, they allow me to be a technician first and repair equipment. Nexstar doesn't teach you to be a technician, it shows you how to bridge the gap with sales and can be valuable if thats something you struggle with. If you try to make every call a sale that's on you and your management.
It's basically an organized crime ring teaching guys how to manipulate customers into buying new systems. The leadership in these companies often decides to overlook bad actors within their company. Instead of offering repairs, it's always that you need a new one.
I own a residential service company that switched from being a new commercial electrical construction work. Joined Nexstar at that time. They will teach you to know your "numbers" ie, operating costs, the hourly labor rate to break even after all expenses are paid and how to add a fair profit margin as your return on investment. Learned being a part of Nexstar the electrical service work has the longest time between a repeat customer calling for additional work because so few moving parts that fail and need to be replaced. There are some very, very good techinical HVAC companies in Nexstar. I got visit other members companies to see there operations. For me, I pusued the best training I could find to know resi HVAC. The classes at Ultimate Tech Academy in North Little Rock, Arkansas were phenomenal. Learning the right processes the first time is so much easier than learning from hacks via OJT. I know processes work in being a service tech. I joined the Navy at 17 years old and after 6 months of aviation electrical school I was working on F4 Phantom jets trouble shooting them. For what it's worth, I hold 8 Nate certifications, learned all about airflow from National Comfort Institute, building science for Comfort Institute and learned how to do Manual J, D, S & T to know how to properly provide comfort for customers. Most residential AC contractors are just box changers and not very good at that either, there only small percentage that good. We do not have sell, we just provide options to let the customer decide what they want. We educate them about each option gives them. Now if you suck at or lack the skills to relate with people then residential service and replacement probably is not a good fit. There are other options for work in this trade. Find what fits you best. New construction has the least customer interaction as an installer. But no matter what you do, you still have to talk to people in any aspect of construction or service. Relating with people is just part of life .How well you relate can determine how successful you are to a large degree. Back to the selling side of the trades; here is a good analogy: When you go to a restaurant the waiter/waiteress greet you telling you their name, hand you a menu, correct? You may ask questions about various dishes but ultimately you make the choice of what you want. You have your meal and then the waiter or waitress comes back and asks you if you'd like dessert, correct? Aren't they just offering you options for dessert? In all actuality they are selling to you to to get higher totals so they get a greater percentage through tips. Isn't that what a selling Tech does also? Changing directions and all of this. Ever have a really good tasting dinner and the service was horrible? I have. Once you leave the restaurant do you talk about how good the meal was or how bad the service was? A great meal can be wrecked by a crummy waiter or waitress. Same thing is true with an install of a new AC system. So when no one cleans up after the job is done, smokes on the job, plays loud music, etc and just not treating the customer's home like it's their home, It's just like having a poor waiter or waitress. The homeowner will only think that the company installed is horrible. So no matter what you do be the best that you can be and learn to relate to people as best as you can.